Binary options on selected indices

1. A method comprising: receiving, by at least one processor of at least one computer, over a communication network, from a first computing device of a first user, a first specification of a first index comprising a first portfolio, the first specification defining one or more first trading products in the first portfolio; receiving, by the at least one processor, over the communication network, from another computing device of another user different from the first user, another specification of another index comprising another portfolio, the another specification defining one or more another trading products in the another portfolio; determining, by the at least one processor, at least one second index each comprising a respective at least one second portfolio, each of the at least one second portfolio comprising at least one second trading product; determining, by the at least one processor, a period of time defining a start time and an end time; monitoring progression of the period of time from the start time to the end time; causing, by the at least one processor, to be output, over the communication network, to the first computing device and the another computing device, at a first electronic display device and another electronic display device associated with the first computing device and the another computing device, respectively, indicia of a first binary option associated with the first index, another binary option associated with the another index, the at least one second index, and a current time of the progression of the period of time, the indicia comprising information about the first index, information about the another index, information about the at least one second index, and the end time; before the end time, receiving, by the at least one processor, over the communication network, from the first computing device a challenge of a head-to-head contest of the first index against the another index, in which the challenge is by a selection to a graphical user interface at the first electronic device, receiving, by the at least one processor, over the communication network, from the another computing device acceptance of the challenge, in which the acceptance is by a selection to a graphical user interface at the another electronic device, and causing, by the at least one processor, to be output, over the communication network, to the first computing device and the another computing device, respectively at the first electronic display device and the another electronic display device, indicia of a challenge binary option associated with a contest between the first index and the another index; before the end time, receiving, by the at least one processor, over the communication network, from a plurality of computing devices including the first computing device and the another computing device, a request to purchase a quantity of the first binary option and a quantity of the challenge binary option, wherein at a time before the end time, each of the first binary option and the challenge binary option is defined to settle at a future time to one of two possible values comprising a respective first final value and a second final value; before the end time, causing, by the at least one processor, a transacting of a first trade and another trade comprising a purchase and sale respectively of the quantity of the first binary option and the quantity of the challenge binary option; determining, by the at least one processor, a first rate of return for the first index by comparing a value of the first index at the end time to a value of the first index at the start time and another rate of return for the another index by comparing a value of the another index at the end time to a value of the another index at the start time; determining, by the at least one processor, at least one second rate of return for the at least one second index by comparing, for each of the at least one second index, a value of the respective second index at the end time to a value of the respective second index at the start time; and determining, by the at least one processor, (i) a final value of the first binary option, in which determining the final value of the first binary option comprises one of: determining that the first binary option has a value equal to the first final value of the first binary option responsive to determining that the first rate of return for the first index is one of (a) higher than and (b) higher than or equal to each of the at least one second rate of return for the at least one second index; and determining that the first binary option has a value equal to the second final value of the first binary option responsive to determining that the first rate of return for the first index is one of (a) less than and (b) less than or equal to each of the at least one second rate of return for the at least one second index; and (ii) a final value of the challenge binary option, in which determining the final value of the challenge binary option comprises one of: determining that the challenge binary option has a value equal to the first final value of the challenge binary option responsive to determining that the first rate of return for the another index is one of (a) higher than and (b) higher than or equal to the first rate of return for the first index; and determining that the challenge binary option has a value equal to the second final value of the challenge binary option responsive to determining that the first rate of return for the another index is one of (a) less than and (b) less than or equal to the first rate of return for the first index.

2. The method of claim 1 , in which the act of receiving the first specification comprises: receiving a selection of a plurality of financial instruments for inclusion in the first portfolio; and receiving a selection of a quantity of each of the plurality of financial instruments for inclusion in the first portfolio.

3. The method of claim 2 , in which the act of receiving a selection of a quantity of the financial instruments comprises: receiving a value associated with a first of the financial instruments in the first portfolio, representing an amount of cash invested in the first financial instruments according to the first financial instrument's market value effective at the start time.

4. The method of claim 1 , in which the at least one second index consists of a single second index, in which the act of determining at least one second rate of return comprises: determining a single second rate of return by dividing a value of the single second index at the end time by a value of the single second index at the start time; and in which the act of determining the final value of the first binary option comprises one of: determining that the first binary option has a value equal to the first final value of the first binary option responsive to determining that the first rate of return for the first index is higher than the single second rate of return for the single second index; and determining that the first binary option has a value equal to the second final value of the first binary option responsive to determining that the first rate of return for the first index is less than the single second rate of return for the single second index.

5. The method of claim 1 , in which the at least one second index comprises a plurality of second indices, each second index comprising a different portfolio comprising a different combination of financial instruments, in which the act of determining at least one second rate of return comprises determining a rate of return for each of the plurality of second indices by: for each of the plurality of second indices, determining a rate of return for the respective second index by dividing a value of the respective second index at the end time by a value of the respective second index at the start time; and in which the act of determining the final value of the first binary option comprises one of: determining that the first binary option has a value equal to the first final value of the first binary option responsive to determining that the first rate of return for the first index is higher than the rate of return for each of the plurality of second indices; and determining that the first binary option has a value equal to the second final value of the first binary option responsive to determining that the first rate of return for the first index is less than the rate of return for each of the plurality of second indices.

6. The method of claim 5 , in which the plurality of second indices comprises at least a third index and a fourth index, further comprising: receiving, by the at least one processor, over the communication network, from a second computing device of a second user a second specification of the third index comprising a third portfolio, the second specification defining one or more trading products in the third portfolio; receiving, by the at least one processor, from a third user a third specification of the fourth index comprising a fourth portfolio, the third specification defining one or more trading products in the fourth portfolio; causing, by the at least one processor, over the communication network, to be output to the second user, at a second electronic display device associated with the second computing device, indicia of a second binary option associated with the first index, the third index, the fourth index, and the period of time, the indicia comprising information about the first index, information about the third index, information about the fourth index, and the end time; causing, by the at least one processor, over the communication network, to be output to the third user, at a third electronic display device associated with the third user, indicia of a second binary option associated with the first index, the third index, the fourth index, and the period of time, the indicia comprising information about the first index, information about the third index, information about the fourth index, and the end time; before the end time, receiving, by the at least one processor, a request to purchase a quantity of the second binary option, wherein at a time before the end time, the second binary option is defined to settle at a future time to one of two possible values comprising a third final value and a second final value; before the end time, receiving, by the at least one processor, a request to purchase a quantity of the third binary option, wherein at a time before the end time, the third binary option is defined to settle at a future time to one of two possible values comprising a fourth final value and a second final value; before the end time, transacting a second trade comprising a purchase and sale of the quantity of the second binary option; before the end time, transacting a third trade comprising a purchase and sale of the quantity of the third binary option; determining, by the at least one processor, a first rate of return for the first index by comparing a value of the first index at the end time to a value of the first index at the start time; in which the act of determining the at least one second rate of return comprises: determining a third rate of return for the third index by comparing a value of the third index at the end time to a value of the third index at the start time; and determining a fourth rate of return for the fourth index by comparing a value of the fourth index at the end time to a value of the fourth index at the start time; determining, by the at least one processor, a final value of the second binary option, in which determining the final value of the second binary option comprises one of: determining that the second binary option has a value equal to the third final value responsive to determining that the third rate of return for the third index is higher than the first rate of return of the first index and the fourth rate of return of the fourth index; and determining that the second binary option has a value equal to the second final value responsive to determining that the third rate of return for the third index is less than the first rate of return of the first index and the fourth rate of return of the fourth index; and determining, by the at least one processor, a final value of the third binary option, in which determining the final value of the third binary option comprises one of: determining that the third binary option has a value equal to the fourth final value responsive to determining that the fourth rate of return for the fourth index is higher than the first rate of return of the first index and the third rate of return of the third index; and determining that the third binary option has a value equal to the second final value responsive to determining that the fourth rate of return for the fourth index is less than the first rate of return of the first index and the third rate of return of the third index.

7. The method of claim 6 , in which one of the first binary option, the second binary option, and the third binary option is determined to have a positive non-zero value, and in which two of the first binary option, the second binary option, and the third binary option are determined to have a value of zero.

8. The method of claim 6 , in which the first portfolio comprises a plurality of financial instruments selected by the first user in relative quantities selected by the first user; in which the third portfolio comprises a plurality of financial instruments selected by the second user in relative quantities selected by the second user; in which the fourth portfolio comprises a plurality of financial instruments selected by the third user in relative quantities selected by the third user; and in which the first rate of return, the third rate of return, and the fourth rate of return are each different from one another.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: at a time between the start time and the end time, causing to be displayed to the first user, at the first electronic display device, information indicating a current value of the first index and information indicating at least one current value of each respective at least one second index.

10. The method of claim 1 , in which the act of transacting a first trade comprises: before the end time: receiving one or more bids to purchase the first binary option, each bid comprising a bid price; receiving one or more offers to sell the first binary option, each offer comprising an offer price; matching a bid with an offer; and transacting a trade by executing the bid against the offer.

11. The method of claim 1 , in which the act of transacting a first trade comprises, before the start time: receiving one or more bids to purchase the first binary option, each bid comprising a bid price; receiving one or more offers to sell the first binary option, each offer comprising an offer price; matching a bid with an offer; and transacting a trade by executing the bid against the offer; in which the act of transacting the first trade comprises the first user purchasing the quantity of the first binary option, further comprising: after transacting the first trade and before the end time, transacting a second trade comprising a sale of at least a portion of the quantity of the first binary option from the first user to another user.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising: before the first user purchases the quantity of the first binary option, causing to be output to the first user, at the first electronic display device, first historical performance information indicating information about a value of the first index over a prior period of time and second historical information indicating information about a value of each of the at least one second index over the same prior period of time.

13. The method of claim 12 , in which the at least one second index consists of a single second index comprising a portfolio comprising specified quantities of a plurality of financial instruments, and in which information about the specified quantities of the plurality of financial instruments of the single second index is provided to the first user at the first electronic display device before the act of receiving from the first user the first specification defining one or more trading products in the first portfolio.

14. The method of claim 1 , in which the first final value is a non-zero positive value and the second final value is zero.

15. The method of claim 1 , in which the second index comprises one of (a) Dow Jones Industrial Average, (b) S&P 500 Index, (c) NASDAQ Composite, and (d) FTSE index.

16. The method of claim 1 , in which at least one of the first portfolio and the at least one second portfolio comprises a quantity of cash.

17. The method of claim 1 , in which the first portfolio comprises one or more derivative financial instruments, and in which the first portfolio changes in composition during the period of time such that the first trading products in the first portfolio at the start time are different from the first trading products in the first portfolio at the end time.

18. The method of claim 1 , in which the first portfolio consists of a predetermined number of different financial products selected from a predetermined list of securities traded on at least one of the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

19. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the at least one processor, direct the at least one processor to: receive, over a communication network, from a first computing device of from a first user a first specification of a first index comprising a first portfolio, the specification defining one or more first trading products in the first portfolio; receive, over the communication network, from another computing device of another user different from the first user, another specification of another index comprising another portfolio, the another specification defining one or more another trading products in the another portfolio; determine at least one second index each comprising a respective at least one second portfolio, each of the at least one second portfolio comprising at least one second trading product; determine a period of time defining a start time and an end time; monitor progression of the period of time from the start time to the end time; cause to be output to the first user, over the communication network, to the first computing device and the another computing device, at a first electronic display device and another electronic display device associated with the first computing device and the another computing device, respectively, indicia of a first binary option associated with the first index, another binary option associated with the another index, the at least one second index, and a current time of the progression of the period of time, the indicia comprising information about the first index, information about the another index information about the at least one second index, and the end time; before the end time, receive, over the communication network, from the first computing device a challenge of a head-to-head contest of the first index against the another index, in which the challenge is by a selection to a graphical user interface at the first electronic device, receive, over the communication network, from the another computing device acceptance of the challenge, in which the acceptance is by a selection to a graphical user interface at the another electronic device, and cause to be output, over the communication network, to the first computing device and the another computing device, respectively at the first electronic display device and the another electronic display device, indicia of a challenge binary option associated with a contest between the first index and the another index; before the end time, receive, over the communication network, from a plurality of computing devices including the first computing device and the another computing device, a request to purchase a quantity of the first binary option and a quantity of the challenge binary option, wherein at a time before the end time, each of the first binary option and the challenge binary option is defined to settle at a future time to one of two possible values comprising a respective first final value and a second final value; before the end time, cause a transacting of a first trade and another trade comprising a purchase and sale respectively of the quantity of the first binary option and the quantity of the challenge binary option; determine a first rate of return for the first index by comparing a value of the first index at the end time to a value of the first index at the start time, and another rate of return for the another index by comparing a value of the another index at the end time to a value of the another index at the start time; determine at least one second rate of return for the at least one second index by comparing, for each of the at least one second index, a value of the respective second index at the end time to a value of the respective second index at the start time; and determine (i) a final value of the first binary option, in which determining the final value of the first binary option comprises one of: determining that the first binary option has a value equal to the first final value of the first binary option responsive to determining that the first rate of return for the first index is one of (a) higher than and (b) higher than or equal to each of the at least one second rate of return for the at least one second index; and determining that the first binary option has a value equal to the second final value of the first binary option responsive to determining that the first rate of return for the first index is one of (a) less than and (b) less than or equal to each of the at least one second rate of return for the at least one second index; and (ii) a final value of the challenge binary option, in which determining the final value of the challenge binary option comprises one of: determining that the challenge binary option has a value equal to the first final value of the challenge binary option the responsive to determining that the first rate of return for the another index is one of (a) higher than and (b) higher than or equal to the first rate of return for the first index; and determining that the challenge binary option has a value equal to the second final value of the challenge binary option responsive to determining that the first rate of return for the another index is one of (a) less than and (b) less than or equal to the first rate of return for the first index.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the at least one processor, direct the at least one processor to: receive, over a communication network, from a first computing device of a first user, a first specification of a first index comprising a first portfolio, the specification defining one or more first trading products in the first portfolio; receive, over the communication network, from another computing device of another user different from the first user, another specification of another index comprising another portfolio, the another specification defining one or more another trading products in the another portfolio; determine at least one second index each comprising a respective at least one second portfolio, each of the at least one second portfolio comprising at least one second trading product; determine a period of time defining a start time and an end time; monitor progression of the period of time from the start time to the end time; cause to be output to the first user, over the communication network, to the first computing device and the another computing device, at a first electronic display device and another electronic display device associated with the first computing device and the another computing device, respectively, indicia of a first binary option associated with the first index, another binary option associated with the another index, the at least one second index, and a current time of the progression of the period of time, the indicia comprising information about the first index, information about the another index information about the at least one second index, and the end time; before the end time, receive, over the communication network, from the first computing device a challenge of a head-to-head contest of the first index against the another index, in which the challenge is by a selection to a graphical user interface at the first electronic device, receive, over the communication network, from the another computing device acceptance of the challenge, in which the acceptance is by a selection to a graphical user interface at the another electronic device, and cause to be output, over the communication network, to the first computing device and the another computing device, respectively at the first electronic display device and the another electronic display device, indicia of a challenge binary option associated with a contest between the first index and the another index; before the end time, receive, over the communication network, from a plurality of computing devices including the first computing device and the another computing device, a request to purchase a quantity of the first binary option and a quantity of the challenge binary option, wherein at a time before the end time, each of the first binary option and the challenge binary option is defined to settle at a future time to one of two possible values comprising a respective first final value and a second final value; before the end time, cause a transacting of a first trade and another trade comprising a purchase and sale respectively of the quantity of the first binary option and the quantity of the challenge binary option; determine a first rate of return for the first index by comparing a value of the first index at the end time to a value of the first index at the start time, and another rate of return for the another index by comparing a value of the another index at the end time to a value of the another index at the start time; determine at least one second rate of return for the at least one second index by comparing, for each of the at least one second index, a value of the respective second index at the end time to a value of the respective second index at the start time; and determine (i) a final value of the first binary option, in which determining the final value of the first binary option comprises one of: determining that the first binary option has a value equal to the first final value of the first binary option responsive to determining that the first rate of return for the first index is one of (a) higher than and (b) higher than or equal to each of the at least one second rate of return for the at least one second index; and determining that the first binary option has a value equal to the second final value of the first binary option responsive to determining that the first rate of return for the first index is one of (a) less than and (b) less than or equal to each of the at least one second rate of return for the at least one second index; and (ii) a final value of the challenge binary option, in which determining the final value of the challenge binary option comprises one of: determining that the challenge binary option has a value equal to the first final value of the challenge binary option the responsive to determining that the first rate of return for the another index is one of (a) higher than and (b) higher than or equal to the first rate of return for the first index; and determining that the challenge binary option has a value equal to the second final value of the challenge binary option responsive to determining that the first rate of return for the another index is one of (a) less than and (b) less than or equal to the first rate of return for the first index.